DIY Musician Bloghttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com
Music Promotion for Independent MusiciansThu, 08 Dec 2016 00:24:20 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Pandora launching on-demand streaming service: CD Baby will deliver your music to Pandora Premiumhttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/pandora-launching-demand-streaming-service/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/pandora-launching-demand-streaming-service/#respond_25989Thu, 08 Dec 2016 00:16:05 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=25989Pandora Premium is on its way. We knew it wouldn’t be too long after their purchase of Rdio that Pandora created an on-demand streaming service. Already in 2016 they’ve rolled out new services and features through Plus and AMP, and now they’ve announced that Pandora Premium — an interactive streaming platform — will arrive early next year to …

We knew it wouldn’t be too long after their purchase of Rdio that Pandora created an on-demand streaming service. Already in 2016 they’ve rolled out new services and features through Plus and AMP, and now they’ve announced that Pandora Premium — an interactive streaming platform — will arrive early next year to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.

Important: If your CD Baby distribution preferences include streaming platforms, we will automatically deliver your music to Pandora Premium. However, Pandora may still play some curatorial role in the contents of their interactive catalog (like they do with their non-interactive catalog), so we cannot guarantee that your music will be included.

According to early reports, for a monthly subscription fee (which is rumored to be $10), users will get:

access to millions of songs on-demand

ad-free streaming

the ability to save music for offline listening

smart playlists that combine your own curation work with Pandora’s recommendations (fueled by their extensive Music Genome)

a personalized playlist of every song you’ve given a thumbs up

personalized search functions based on your listening habits

personalized “browse” sections

Rumor has it the color of the app also changes according to the color of the artwork associated with the current song. And Pandora Premium will also be integrated in some way with the existing Pandora radio service, so radio stations and thumbs (for voting a song up or down) will appear during on-demand streaming.

Will Pandora Premium prevail?

Pandora has a hard fight ahead to gain ground on Spotify and Apple Music, but one interesting factor in the equation is that Pandora will have multiple tiers to appeal to many different kinds of users: Free, Plus, Premium.

What do you think of this upcoming service? Holler with your predictions in the comments.

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/pandora-launching-demand-streaming-service/feed/0Choosing the single release strategy that’s right for your songhttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/it-all-starts-with-a-song-10-strategies-for-releasing-a-single/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/it-all-starts-with-a-song-10-strategies-for-releasing-a-single/#comments_21901Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:15:13 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=2190110 ways to release a single There’s a lot more to releasing a single than just throwing it up on SoundCloud or Bandcamp. And I’m not talking about distribution — though, ya know, (plug) you should totally get your latest single onto Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and more. Global music distribution is important, but …

Global music distribution is important, but what I’m talking about here is the strategy behind the release of your single: How are you going to attract listeners and encourage downloads? How is the launch of this single going to enhance your relationship with your audience? How will this song help you get to the next level in your music career?

As a music marketing tool, you can do a lot of different things with a single, and there are a number of strategies you can employ for its release.

Here’s a list of options (and thanks to Jon Ostrow, from whom I borrowed some of these ideas) — and remember, you can combine some of these strategies for the same single:

1. Release the video single

With this approach, you would post your song first to YouTube, perhaps first as an album art track and then followed up later with an official music video (and then even later with live videos or lyric videos), and use YouTube cards to drive engagement. Be sure to link your fans via cards, end screens, annotations, or in the video description to a place where they can purchase the download.

Video, of course, is one of the most sharable forms of online content, so if both the song and video are great, releasing the music this way can be a smart move — especially if you manage to get a notable blog to premiere the video for you (meaning you give them a limited-time exclusive to debut the video on their site).

Be sure to upload the video directly to Facebook too (once the exclusive blog premiere is over), since Facebook favors video that is native to the platform when determining what to display in users’ feeds.

2. Release the radio single

Effective radio promotion can be pretty expensive, but if the song is right and the promoter has a record of success, it might be worth the cost. When you release a radio single (think “hit song” usually between 2.5 — 4 minutes long), the idea is to create sustained exposure to the song over a short period of time. That’s what it takes to get a critical mass of people to take notice — repeated listens. Even if it’s a great song.

Don’t have the budget for a radio promoter, you can still make a dent going the DIY route. Download our free guide to getting radio airplay.

3. Release a deep cut

Radio singles are great for catching new ears, but every once in a while you need to reward your existing fans too — the folks who love you for everything you do (not just the moments with the sharpest hooks). So feel free to release what Jon Ostrow calls a “street single,” a longer or more demanding song that offers up the goods for those who pay closer attention.

4. Release your single as the instant-gratification track on iTunes

Did you know you can run an iTunes pre-sale for a month before your album comes out? One of the features of the pre-sale on iTunes is that they allow customers to download one track right away (and then they get the full album download on the day of release). So think about what song will be most enticing. The radio single? The street single? Something else?

5. Release a bonus track with your full album

Whether you offer bonus tracks to download customers or exclusively on CD and vinyl, this gives you a great chance to feature some extra content and drive up sales. Live track? Alternate mix? Demo? An unreleased track? Acoustic version of a favorite song from your previous album? The bonus track will appeal to fans who want to collect the whole catalog.

6. Release a new song on a compilation

If the song only comes out on a compilation, I suppose it’s not technically a single — BUT it might be a smart way to put a new track to work for you. You’ll benefit from the song being featured alongside tunes by a bunch of other artists, and you can always use it again later on your own album.

7. Release a FREE single

Okay, you’ve really got options here, including:

using the single as an incentive to join your mailing list

handing out download cards of the new single to anyone who attends your single release party

granting a blog the premiere on your new song — and let readers of that blog download the song for free

8. “Leak” the single

This one has its ethical issues, but as Jon Ostrow says in an article for Hypebot:

If artists are planning on ‘leaking’ a track, time and attention needs to be paid so that it not only seems the track was actually accidentally leaked and not just released, but also so that the music gets into the right hands of influential bloggers and super fans who’s announcement of the leaked track will help is spread. But be careful, if it comes out that you were behind the leak, the inauthentic nature could leave a sour taste in the mouths of fans.

9. Release a remix

Remixes let you breathe new life into a song whose energy might be waning, collaborate with artists who might work in another genre, and benefit from all the cross-promotion that ensues.

10. Release a series of singles to build an album

One practice that’s become more common is for an artist to set a release schedule, for instance: putting out one new song a month for a year, and then letting fans vote on which ten tunes will comprise the next album. This is a great strategy for staying motivated, stirring fan anticipation, and giving yourself multiple chances to connect with a new audience throughout the year.

Bonus strategy: record a cover song single!

Whether it’s a holiday favorite, a classic from your own genre, or a current Billboard hit, recording a cover song can attract a whole new audience to your music. People search for a song they already love, get wowed by your creative take on it, and hopefully become a fan of your original material too.

Obviously a cover song can be promoted in any of the ways already mentioned above, but make sure you’ve secured the proper mechanical license before you distribute your cover song single. Now CD Baby makes that easy, with cover song licensing and standard single-song distribution integrated into the same simple signup process. You pay a one-time fee upfront and we’ll handle all of your mechanical licensing and royalty payments from there!

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/it-all-starts-with-a-song-10-strategies-for-releasing-a-single/feed/9The 23 most popular Christmas songs you need a license to coverhttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/23-popular-christmas-songs-need-license-cover/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/23-popular-christmas-songs-need-license-cover/#respond_25974Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:50:41 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=25974During the holidays people have an almost insatiable appetite for the same repertoire of songs. That’s good news for you if you want to create your own Christmas cover songs. Fans will love them; new audiences might be able to discover your music when searching for holiday favorites on Spotify, Pandora, or CD Baby; and …

During the holidays people have an almost insatiable appetite for the same repertoire of songs. That’s good news for you if you want to create your own Christmas cover songs. Fans will love them; new audiences might be able to discover your music when searching for holiday favorites on Spotify, Pandora, or CD Baby; and you might even find some licensing opportunities in film, TV, or commercials.

But before you record your own version of a Christmas classic, you should know whether you’re going to need a mechanical license in order to distribute the track.

There’s just a one-time fee, and then we’ll take care of the rest, securing the required mechanical license and paying the royalties you owe to publishers directly from your sales revenue, so you don’t have to deal with constant accounting headaches.

Okay, so about those 23 most popular Christmas cover songs you need a license to sell — here they are:

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Christmas Song

Do You Hear What I Hear

Feliz Navidad

Frosty The Snowman

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Here Comes Santa Claus

Holly Jolly Christmas

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Jingle Bell Rock

Last Christmas

Let It Snow

Little Drummer Boy

Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Santa Baby

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Silver Bells

Sleigh Ride

White Christmas

Winter Wonderland

Remember, if a song isn’t on this list, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s is in the Public Domain (meaning it’s so old that the copyright has expired). You might still have to secure a mechanical license to distribute the tune. Do your research first.

It’s a free downloadable PDF that includes:

A list of popular holiday songs in the Public Domain

A list of popular, copyrighted Christmas songs

Composer names for copyrighted holiday songs

Download the free PDF now and see which holiday compositions you can record without paying mechanical royalties. If the song you want to sell is NOT in the Public Domain, remember — CD Baby now makes it easy and affordable to license AND distribute your cover song single from the same account. Get started HERE.

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/23-popular-christmas-songs-need-license-cover/feed/0CD Baby now offers the simplest way to legally sell cover songshttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/cd-baby-now-offers-simplest-way-legally-sell-cover-songs/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/cd-baby-now-offers-simplest-way-legally-sell-cover-songs/#respond_25966Mon, 05 Dec 2016 18:00:20 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=25966CD Baby announces one-stop distribution AND cover song licensing for standard single releases. Putting your own spin on a popular song is a great way to reach new listeners. But in order to record and distribute a cover song, you need to secure the proper license and pay the publishers. That often comes with a …

]]>CD Baby announces one-stop distribution AND cover song licensing for standard single releases.

Putting your own spin on a popular song is a great way to reach new listeners. But in order to record and distribute a cover song, you need to secure the proper license and pay the publishers. That often comes with a lot of paperwork and ongoing accounting headaches — until now.

With CD Baby’s cover song licensing, you can license and distribute your cover song (to platforms like iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, etc.), manage it all from one account, and CD Baby will handle all of your accounting and mechanical royalty payments FOREVER.

You just pay a one-time setup fee of $14.99 per song (in addition to the one-time signup fee for worldwide music distribution). CD Baby will secure the required mechanical license and pay any mechanical royalties you owe to the publisher/s for sales of that cover song.

Yes, CD Baby will take care of all that work for you — AND automatically pay the publishers each time your cover song has a sale, so you no longer have to keep a running tally of your cover song sales for the purposes of renewing the license. This “covers you” (pun!) for the sales of your cover song forever.

It’s easy and affordable cover song licensing AND distribution, built into the same signup process. There’s no other charges, no recurring fees, and the royalties you owe are deducted automatically before your sales revenue goes into your CD Baby account. Simple.

Here’s how to license your single-song release:

CD Baby will then secure the proper license and take care of paying the songwriters and publishers as your music sells

During the song registration process, CD Baby will ask for information to help identify your cover song to be sure the correct license is secured.

That information includes:

Original Song Title

Original Composer/ Songwriter

Original Performing Artist

Song Source Link (if you have a YouTube video or other link that will help ID the song)

Song Source Notes (ie. If this is a song from a Broadway production, opera, motion picture etc.)

How to license cover songs on your album:

CD Baby Cover Song Licensing is currently only available for singles. A full-album cover song licensing service will be in place soon, but until then, please check out Loudr.

How much does it cost to secure a license through CD Baby’s licensing service?

Setup fee

CD Baby charges a one-time fee of $14.99 per cover song to secure the proper mechanical licenses. There are no other out-of-pocket costs beyond that point, since CD Baby takes the mechanical royalties you owe to the publisher/s for each sale of that cover song directly out of your sales revenue.

Royalty Fee

Every time you sell a cover song, you owe the publisher/s of that song a mechanical royalty of $.091*. With CD Baby’s Cover Song Licensing service, CD Baby takes that owed royalty amount out of your earnings for each sale and pays it directly to the publishers for you, so you never have to worry about mechanical royalty payments again.

Remember, CD Baby still takes a 9% cut of your net digital distribution earnings, but does NOT keep ANY additional cut for taking care of your mechanical royalty payments. That’s what the initial setup fee is for.

Your earnings for a cover song sale will look like this:

* $.091 is based on the length of the song being 5 minutes or less. An additional fee of $0.0175 x (duration in minutes or fraction thereof, rounded up to whole minute) will be taken from songs longer than 5 minutes.

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/cd-baby-now-offers-simplest-way-legally-sell-cover-songs/feed/0If you only do one thing to promote your music this holiday season, email your fans (and tell them about 1¢ shipping)http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/one-thing-promote-music-holiday-season-email-fans/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/one-thing-promote-music-holiday-season-email-fans/#comments_20142Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:57:40 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=20142The best way to get your fans to buy your music this holiday season is… to simply ASK THEM to buy your music. Yes, the easiest way to promote your music this holiday season is to email your fans. Doubters, believe: Email is still the most effective form of online marketing. But if the only …

]]>The best way to get your fans to buy your music this holiday season is… to simply ASK THEM to buy your music.

Yes, the easiest way to promote your music this holiday season is to email your fans. Doubters, believe: Email is still the most effective form of online marketing.

But if the only thing you say when you send an email is “buy my music,” fans learn to tune out pretty quickly. There’s got to be an extra hook, something in it for THEM.

Well, in case you haven’t heard already, we’re offering 1¢ shipping on CDBaby.com orders whenever a customer purchases three or ore CDs or vinyl records. So there’s a great opportunity right there to remind your fans where they can purchase your music — and give them an extra incentive to do so.

To make things super simple for you, we’ve even written an announcement you can email to your list (just copy and paste the template):

Subject: Get 1¢ shipping when you buy 3 of my CDs (or vinyl) on CD Baby

—-

Still trying to find the perfect gift for the music-lover in your life? I wanted to let you know that CD Baby is charging only 1¢ for shipping when you purchase any three (or more) CDs or vinyl records. That’s ONE PENNY standard domestic or international shipping!

You can find my music right here: [paste a link to your artist or album page on cdbaby.com]

Here’s to a music-filled holiday season.

Feel free to put it in your own words, of course.

What if you want to include more than just the details about CD Baby’s shipping deal in your email though? What if you want to send multiple emails throughout the holiday season? What if you want to give something extra to your fans?

Here are some tips for sprucing up your holiday emails:

* Thank your fans for their support.

* Mention any notable achievements throughout the year, such as a successful crowdfunding campaign, album release, music video launch, tour highlights, etc.

* Give your fans a special holiday gift such as a free single, link to an exclusive video greeting, etc.

* Run a limited-time sale by lowering the price of your CD during the holidays.

* Talk about how their purchase of your music on CDBaby.com goes a long way, since you earn more with us than through other distributors and download retailers.

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/one-thing-promote-music-holiday-season-email-fans/feed/25 tips for sending better holiday emails to your fanshttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/5-tips-sending-better-holiday-emails-fans/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/5-tips-sending-better-holiday-emails-fans/#comments_20133Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:30:22 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=20133How you can create an email newsletter that drives engagement and boosts sales this holiday season Did you know that 20% of all music sales happen in the last six weeks of the year? That makes sense, since similar end-of-year sales spikes happen for books, clothes, and almost every other product on the market (except …

]]>How you can create an email newsletter that drives engagement and boosts sales this holiday season

Did you know that 20% of all music sales happen in the last six weeks of the year? That makes sense, since similar end-of-year sales spikes happen for books, clothes, and almost every other product on the market (except for bug spray and bathing suits).

With the boom in sales, of course, comes a huge increase in marketing emails, too. Why? Because email is still the best way to reach people online — and everyone out there with something to sell knows it.

To make your email newsletters as effective as possible this season, they’ve got to cut through the rest of the noise in your fans’ inboxes.

Here are five ways to make sure people are seeing, opening, reading, and acting on the info in your holiday emails:

1. Give your emails a special seasonal makeover

If you’ve used the same template in your list management system for a while, it’s time for a refresh. Spruce up the design of your emails with a holiday-themed header and some festive images, fonts, colors, etc.

2. Enticing pricing — for a limited time

Run a holiday sale on your CDs and other band merch. End the sale on Christmas or New Years Eve. Fans should get a notable percentage off the usual price of the disc, or even two for one! (One purchase, two gifts!) Also, tell your fans that CD Baby offers ONE CENT shipping on any order of 3 or more CDs or vinyl records.

3. Don’t be afraid to email more than once

As long as you’re not sending the exact same emails, it’s ok to contact your fans a few times throughout the holidays. Frequency is key. People are busy, and they might not have opened your earlier emails.

4. It’s not just about your latest release

You should remind your fans — even if they’ve already purchased your whole back-catalog for themselves— that your older albums are always new to SOMEONE out there, and they make great gifts.

5. Give a present to your fans

Make sure to thank the folks out there who enjoy your music. Offer something in each holiday email that shows your appreciation — a XMAS card image with a greeting, a special holiday video, a free holiday song download, a winter-y tour diary, etc. ‘Tis the season for giving back to your fans.

————-

Hopefully these tips help you craft email newsletters that will increase engagement and boost your sales this Christmas! Got any advice to add? Let us know in the comments section below.

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/5-tips-sending-better-holiday-emails-fans/feed/26 ways to earn more money from your music on YouTube this Holiday Seasonhttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/youtube/6-ways-earn-money-youtube-holiday-season/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/youtube/6-ways-earn-money-youtube-holiday-season/#comments_20095Wed, 30 Nov 2016 19:40:13 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=20095Prep for the holidays; reap the benefits year-round! Aunt Sue is wondering whether she really wants to buy you the album you asked for this Christmas, the one by Sexy Demonic Wombats from Beyond the Gates of Oblivion (“SDWBGO” for short). If she’s like most people with Internet access, she’ll turn to YouTube for a …

Aunt Sue is wondering whether she really wants to buy you the album you asked for this Christmas, the one by Sexy Demonic Wombats from Beyond the Gates of Oblivion (“SDWBGO” for short).

If she’s like most people with Internet access, she’ll turn to YouTube for a minute or two of “research” first.

Much to her surprise and relief, Demonic Wombats is a mostly harmless polka band that performs 1970’s prog-rock covers — so you’re all set. She orders the CD and everyone (Aunt Sue, you, the Wombats) is happy come Christmas.

This is just one of countless examples of how people use YouTube these days. The video streaming giant is now the world’s jukebox, a customizable replacement for both MTV and radio, a deep musical archive, the #1 search engine for music, the #1 music discovery tool online, and much more — all available on your smartphone.

So it’s hardly surprising that artists are now earning so much in YouTube ad revenue. CD Baby pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a month to indie musicians for the usage of their music on YouTube — and the holidays also happen to coincide (not… coincidentally, of course) with a huge spike in YouTube advertising revenue.

One interesting and encouraging thing about the amount of revenue artists generate on YouTube is that people who’ve monetized their music are actually earning more from fan-created videos (also known as “user-generated content,” or U.G.C.) than from the official music videos they’ve uploaded to YouTube themselves.

As I’ve said in previous articles, the modern music industry is built on a social economy. What your fans do (and want to do) with your music has real value.

No, you’re not going to earn nearly as much per usage as you might if the same song were licensed for a Coke commercial. Instead, with YouTube, it’s all about VOLUME and time (since the videos that use your music will be up on YouTube for quite a while) — and as our monthly YouTube payouts demonstrate, when your fan community is empowered to take social action with your music, you make money.

Here are 6 tips to help you make more money from your music on YouTube (this holiday season and beyond)

Making money from your music on YouTube isn’t just a holiday thing, but this busy music season is a perfect time to make sure you’re doing all you can to take advantage of this increasingly important revenue stream.

In the digital age, your music doesn’t have a shelf life — and you never know when one of your songs will find its audience. So sign up ALL your songs, old and new.

2. Encourage your fans to create user-generated content

It’s the holidays! One of your songs might be the perfect soundtrack to someone’s ugly-sweater video Christmas card, or as the background music to a classic home movie of kids unwrapping presents around the tree.

Here are a few ways to get people to use your music:

* email your fans and let them know they’re free to use your songs for their holiday videos, wedding videos, family reunion videos, company or school projects, vacation slideshows, etc. Your songs are already in heavy rotation in these peoples’ households; might as well be in their crazy cat videos, too! If one of them goes viral, you’ll make even more money.

* host a video contest where you ask your fans to create music videos for their favorite of your songs. Whether its footage of a dance party, a stop-motion animation, or a bunch of kids lip syncing, these kinds of videos can add up to serious ad revenue from YouTube. Plus, you’ll get to share your favorite of these entries through your website, newsletter, and social.

3. Put your most important links at the top of your video descriptions

For any videos you upload to your own channel, be sure to include the URL to your website or preferred music store right at the top of the description. You want viewers to be able to click through without having to scroll down or hit the “show more” button. Don’t make people search.

4. Create and upload videos for ALL your songs

In addition to all the other things YouTube has become, it’s also the #1 preferred listening platform for younger music fans. Make it easy for them to hear your music. The more videos you make available, the more opportunities you have to earn ad revenue.

If you don’t have the time or budget to shoot that many “proper” music videos, you should at the very least upload simple album art videos for every song.

[Important: if your distribution through CD Baby includes streaming services, we will deliver Art Track videos to YouTube for you!]

5. Record a holiday greeting video

If it’s not in the cards to film a video for a Holiday single or to shoot a live performance, just use the camera on your smartphone and say hi to your fans. Post it on YouTube, embed it on your website, and spread some cheer!

6. Use smart calls-to-action, cards, and end screens

YouTube offers a number of tools to enhance your videos and to drive further engagement. Be sure to explore all your options within your YouTube channel, including adding cards to your videos that will encourage purchases, boost channel subscriptions, increase views, and more. Also be sure to check out end screens!

—-

What are your tips for boosting YouTube activity (and ad revenue) this holiday season? Let us know in the comments below.

[Take your YouTube presence to the next level with Illustrated Sound. Click HERE.]

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/youtube/6-ways-earn-money-youtube-holiday-season/feed/8Working Guitar Players: Get More Gigs By Learning Bass…Properly!http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/working-guitar-players-get-gigs-learning-bass-properly/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/working-guitar-players-get-gigs-learning-bass-properly/#respond_25939Wed, 30 Nov 2016 19:26:56 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=25939This article, written by Wade Mosher, originally appeared HERE. Bass players… They’re in a world of their own design & they don’t occupy a lot of gray area: The Bernie or the Donald, the goalie or the empty net, the eagle or the drunk squirrel of the band. A solid bassist is rare; The anchor, …

Bass players… They’re in a world of their own design & they don’t occupy a lot of gray area: The Bernie or the Donald, the goalie or the empty net, the eagle or the drunk squirrel of the band. A solid bassist is rare; The anchor, the dude who keeps the drummer from rushing into Neil Peart land, the obnoxiously responsible one. (You’re having another beer before the set?) As Mick Jagger once said when asked about a Bill Wyman replacement, “How hard can it be?” Not so fast, Mr. 2 PM Wake Up Call!!!

Like the zeros on your Spotify checks, you’ve probably noticed a disproportionate amount of guitar players to… whatever instruments the other dudes play. That uniquely brilliant decision to become a guitarist has likely given you plenty of free time & some memorable excuses as to why you can’t pay for your date’s tacos. But good bass players? They’re working!

So you’ve wrestled with the bass a few times, only to realize that taming the beast into a steady gait & maintaining the timing of a Rolex isn’t as 1-2-4 as you once thought. So, you put it back on its stand after 9 bars & felt weird for the rest of the day. (A common trait of bass players.) But if you had spent even half the time learning bass as you did fondling your Looper, you could be on your way to a gig right now instead of wasting your time with me. So put down that ’59 Les Paul, and let’s get you started, Jack White!

Gear

The 1st thing you’ll need is a rig. If you have a tuner & your guitar cables haven’t been destroyed from your uncanny Mick Jones impersonation, then all you need is a bass & an amp. Play it safe with these decisions; you’re not trying out for The Dave Mathews Band. They have a guy.

The Fender Precision. You can’t go wrong with the old reliable P-Bass. It’s pretty much the standard & works in any genre. A lot of real bass players start on a P-Bass & spend the next 47 years trying every other kind of bass, only to end up back on a P-Bass when they’re in their late hundred’s. The rest of their days on earth will be consumed by stories about that coveted 1967 P-Bass & why they should never have sold it.

James Jamerson, Sting, Kim Deal, Sid Vicious (yes, I know) & John Paul Jones are just a few players that show how versatile and cool the instrument can be. The P-Bass doesn’t have a particularly outstanding tone, but it sits in a mix like bedbugs in your luggage & soundmen love ’em!

The Fender Jazz. The P-Bass for snootier, educated types. Not quite as sexy, even a little frumpy, the Jazz can sound similar to a P-Bass, but it’s equipped with 2 pickups, allowing for more variation in tone. There are signature models like the Geddy Lee model with it’s Baddass bridge, but the stock models are just fine, especially for a newbie like you. Jaco Pastorius, Flea, the U2 guy, Marcus Miller & a guy I heard at the liquor store have all been Jazz players.

“What about a 5 string, Wade?” No, a 4 string bass will cover you for the type of working gigs you’d be starting with. “But a Bro Country band has hired me & a lot of songs have Drop D tuning!” First of all, sorry about the gig. Unless there’s an overwhelming amount of material that require notes lower than the legally appointed E, just tune your bass down for those songs. And for a laugh, don’t mute your tuner!

Amps! Back to the dilemma of the seasoned bass player, which you’re not. Like the aforementioned P-Bass story, bass players are notorious for buying & selling their amp rigs, looking for that elusive tone that no one else in the band can hear, but must endure hearing about. They’ll start their careers with something cool like an Ampeg Portaflex & then go through years of painful, exponential spending, buying new rigs almost biweekly for 44 or so years, until it finally occurs to them that 99% of the time the soundman takes a D.I. from the bass guitar itself. Be sensible & just get yourself something small, portable & loud enough for stage. Traynor, Gallien-Krueger, Roland & Ampeg make some affordable, good quality, combo amps.

(Remember, you’re new at this, so be smart! If you show up at a Blues gig with a Bass that has more than 4 strings & an amp rig that requires a horse trailer, it’s completely legal for any band member to throw you down a flight of stairs.)

Technique

You’re not a guitar player anymore, Eddie, so get that out of your head! And put that pick down! “But Wade, there are some great bass players that use a pick!” Yes, that’s true; Paul McCartney, Carol Kaye, Matt Freeman, the angry looking guy from The Killers & Roger Waters to name a few. Keep in mind though that Gene Simmons also uses a pick. With practice, you’ll find that using your index & F.U. Finger will give you more dynamic control & a warm, rounded tone. But sure, use a pick when it’s required. Like for KISS songs.

Listen to some meat & potatoes bass players & learn their parts. 4 on the floor blues or traditional country are great ways to get you thinking like a bass player, (as is spending a lot of time alone). Maybe you’ve learned a few SRV licks, now learn Tommy Shannon’s parts, especially a walking line like ‘Texas Flood’. For math & meter, try ‘Tin Pan Alley’. After that, head over to the honky tonk corner & check out more of a major walk. Merle Haggard’s ‘Big City’ is a great example of this & it’ll calm your rage about the Bro Country you’ve been immersed in. Back to back, these are great lessons in the math of major/minor pentatonic vs. major and that gray area in between. Trust me; this will improve your guitar chops too, just by looking at these scales from a different angle, although we both know that part of your life is over.

No slapping…ever! Don’t even think about it. In fact, remove any temptation to even learn it. You’ve got too much facial hair for any P-Funk or Duran Duran tribute act, so remove the duct tape from your thumb & just move on.

No solos…ever! Even if the singer nods your way to take one, just continue with the groove, give a smirk & step a little closer to the front of the stage. (Not too close, Bootsy! Remember, you’re not the guitar player!) Get through this ordeal as fast as you can. This is the one instance where the bass player calls the shots. Get back in your 2×2 corner before the singer has a chance to take a swig of his J.D., the actual reason why he called you out in the 1st place. Jokes on him, see?

Speaking of J.D., I’d never advocate drinking & driving a band, but having a couple of shots could actually help your cosmic groove by slowing you down. Falling just slightly behind the kick drum is the mark of a great rhythm section. Falling off of the stage is the singer’s distinction.

The Zen Of The Master Bassist

Now that you’ve mastered the basics of the gigging bassist, it’s time to adopt the bass player’s lifestyle, expectations & philosophy.

As a guitar player, you’ve grown accustomed to a fairly active social life. People know you, they invite you to parties, they seek you out during set breaks asking nonsensical things like, “Do you have red bobbin pups in your MIJ Strat?,” “Why is the singer such a knob?,” “Can I have your hotel room number?,” “Would you like to meet your son?”

As the bass player, you’ll never have to worry about these awkward situations & you’ll have the luxury of enjoying your breaks in peace. Remember to get your hand stamped at the door though if you’re going out for a smoke, otherwise you’ll never get back in. “Yeah right, you’re with the band!” Once in awhile you’ll get a compliment, so savor those moments. I’ll never forget one of the most inspiring things said to me after a gig. We had just finished a 6 nighter & I was walking back to the hotel room with my bass. An eager young fella was running up behind me yelling, “Hey!! Stop!!” “Yes?,” I replied. He smiled & said, “You’re an awesome drummer!” Those are the kinds of things that keep you going.

Within the band, you’re now occupying a new role. It’s now the job of the singer and guitar player to bicker over dumb things like money, the future, song order, why the guitar player needs the volume of an atomic bomb to get his tone, replacing the keyboard player behind his back and proper usage of they’re, their & there.

You are now a bass player and there are certain expectations that the rest of the band will have of you other than your awesome grooves, so learn them. Never talk about guitar, especially with the guitar player. You don’t need to raise any suspicions or create uncomfortable situations. Be frugal, I mean downright cheap; that’s a telltale sign that you’re the real McCoy. Find insipid topics you know nothing about & discuss them with full confidence & authority on 8 hour van trips. Be a little creepy around potential dates, especially dates that aren’t potentially yours. Get some hobbies that have nothing to do with music & make sure everyone knows about them. Comic or toy collecting, playing Baldur’s Gate, expertise in all that is Star Trek. With the latter, make sure your hubris is in full gear when it comes to rating each series. (Hint: Deep Space Nine sucked!)

By now, your metamorphosis should be complete! You can now expect more money, extra time for yourself, a new temporary keyboard player friend and zero pressure in having anything to do with band decisions. And one final thing: If there’s an extra hotel room on the road, it’s almost certainly yours!

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/working-guitar-players-get-gigs-learning-bass-properly/feed/0EXTENDED until Friday: Save 50% on standard album distribution to Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and morehttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/save-50-standard-album-distribution-apple-music-spotify-itunes-amazon/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/save-50-standard-album-distribution-apple-music-spotify-itunes-amazon/#respond_25902Tue, 29 Nov 2016 19:15:52 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=25902Our lowest price — now available until Friday, December 2nd! Not ready to release new music? Buy now; use later. It’s the busiest music-buying season of the year‚ and millions of people are going to be shopping for independent music online. And‚ don’t forget about the equally important post-holiday frenzy‚ when people will be spending …

]]>Our lowest price — now available until Friday, December 2nd! Not ready to release new music? Buy now; use later.

It’s the busiest music-buying season of the year‚ and millions of people are going to be shopping for independent music online. And‚ don’t forget about the equally important post-holiday frenzy‚ when people will be spending their gift cards!

That’s one big reason to get your music selling in all the major online outlets‚ but here’s another:

Through December 2nd, standard album submissions at CD Baby are 50% off. That’s just $24.50!

And that’s from the most trusted name in independent music distribution‚ where you’ll NEVER pay annual fees. Just enter the code BLACKFRIDAY2016 at checkout‚ and watch your one-time submission cost get cut in half.

]]>http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-news/save-50-standard-album-distribution-apple-music-spotify-itunes-amazon/feed/0Band social media: the least you can dohttp://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/band-social-media-least-can/
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-promotion/band-social-media-least-can/#comments_25933Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:27:37 +0000http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/?p=25933I get it. You’re an artist, not a blind corporate sheeple drone whore-bot. Obviously social media isn’t for you. And no, I’m not here to write a “how to rock your band’s social media” blog post. It’s 2016. This is a topic that you can find trillions of articles and books on, and it has …

You’re an artist, not a blind corporate sheeple drone whore-bot. Obviously social media isn’t for you. And no, I’m not here to write a “how to rock your band’s social media” blog post. It’s 2016. This is a topic that you can find trillions of articles and books on, and it has been for over a decade. Let’s face it, if you were going to be good at using social media to promote your band, you would have gotten off of your lazy ass and done it already.

This is not a blog post for the insufferable overachievers. Rather, this is for those who can just barely be bothered: for the musicians out there who type using only their index fingers or have better things to do like get drunk or spend time with their families or both. What you will find below is a slacker’s guide to doing the bare minimum for your band on social media. So read up, guys. It’s literally the least you could do.

In order to achieve this, you will probably have to delete a bunch of old crap. This includes outdated band photos, blurry live shots, photos of your practice space (all practice spaces are hideous), pointless photos of your merch, photos that are almost exactly the same as other photos, actual duplicates, dumb tweets going back a month or two, old flyers, inside joke photos that aren’t funny to people outside of your band, and *god forbid* posts that involve shit talking in any way.

And if you’re not sure about a certain piece of content, delete it.

Get Up Above 500

The chances are that you and your bandmates probably have a bunch of Facebook friends. Invite them to like your page, for the love of god. Just invite everyone. There’s no reason for your band to have been around for more than a year without having gotten up above 500 likes. It doesn’t look good.

Save Facebook For Actual News

If you’re not sharing actual news about stuff your band is doing, keep it off of your band’s Facebook page. Confine weird personal musings to Twitter, where they belong.

Post Some Shit When You Do A Thing

Live Shows

If you play a show or do an in-store performance, create a Facebook event or use an existing one if someone else already set one up. You and your bandmates should all invite each of your friends a few weeks beforehand and share the event page a day or two before the show. Feel free to post in the event a few times leading up to the event (especially to share preview coverage, new content, or music from the other acts), but don’t share actual event pages multiple times.

Once you’re at the venue (before or after your set – doesn’t really matter) tweet about it and tag the venue and other bands.

Take plenty of photos on your phone. Once you get home, post one photo from the night on Instagram and tag the venue and other bands.

In The Studio

Pick one cool photo to post to Facebook from your time in the studio. Remember to tag the studio and engineer, if applicable.

Post photos or videos of the recording process to Instagram throughout your days of recording. Tag gear makers, tag the studio, tag engineers. Use minimal, thoughtful hashtags.

Post to Twitter about how you’re having a great time at the studio.

On Tour

Tweet about a show early the day of and tag the other bands and venue.
Share a photo on Instagram at some point during the night and tag the venue and other bands.

Use Instagram to share cool guy tour photos.

You probably don’t need to post about each show on your band’s Facebook timeline while you’re on tour, but if you feel like it, post something to the Facebook event of each show the day of, like recent press if you’re touring around a release or just “stoked to see [other band] tonight!”

Releasing Music

Share pre-order links across every platform.

Share any corresponding press coverage and thank the publication (see below) across every platform.

Say Thanks When People Give A Shit

Thank publications for writing about you by sharing the link to the post, tagging the publication, and saying thaaaaanks. Press is one of the things that’s great to share across all platforms, so be sure and do them all.

And by the way, you guys gotta get rid of those big ugly URL’s on Facebook and Twitter! Here’s how:

Facebook

Step 1. Copy and Paste the URL. An image and title will appear below.

Step 2. Delete the big ugly URL. The article remains. See?

Step 3. Write whatever you’re going to write and then post it!

Twitter

Use goo.gl or bit.ly to shorten the url to a minilink like this: goo.gl/AuNVgJ

Half Announcements: Shut It Down

Have you ever seen a band post something like, Big announcement coming tomorrow! or Exciting news coming soon!!! ?

What is that? Why would you waste people’s time with an announcement announcement?

As excited about upcoming stuff as you may be, it’s pretty much always best to wait to bug people until there’s an actual link where they can read, listen, download, buy tickets, whatever.

You’re Not Funny

Ok, you might be funny. But probably not that funny. Before posting videos or photos of your band goofing around, ask yourself – would someone think this was funny if they didn’t know us?

And on that note, it’s always a good idea to edit the content you’re posting with a critical eye.

Ask yourself, is this relevant to anyone? Would I be annoyed if I saw someone else post something like this?

Whittle your self-doubt into a razor-sharp spear and throw it with all your might into the heart of the internet.